Hideaki
by My Echoing Silence
Summary: Uchiha Hideaki. Older brother of Uchiha Itachi by five years. Placed under Orochimaru with Anko. Genin at six, chuunin at seven, jounin at ten. Emancipated and disowned at eleven. And this was all before Kyuubi attacked.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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Uchiha Hideaki was later called the Uchiha Maverick. The Forbidden.

He didn't care by that point.

To better understand why, you have to find out how it happened. It started before the Uchiha Massacre, before the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked, before Orochimaru turned Nuke-nin.

At eleven, Hideaki had been six years older than his younger five-year-old brother, Uchiha Itachi.

**(space)**

"Hideaki-ku-u-un! Whatcha doin'?"

The eleven-year-old glanced over his shoulder his team mate from his previous Genin team and later Chuunin team, Mitarashi Anko. Anko was three years older than himself and one of the few people he had ever let close.

Truth be told, while he quite liked Anko, he had never taken to his Jounin sensei, Orochimaru, like he had his two female team mates. He had been especially close to his other, now deceased, team mate, Ayanami Rei.

Rei, a great prodigy from a civilian family, was generally a quiet and withdrawn girl. She had been the one to first treat him like another person. They were both the same age, had excelled to genin together at six, chuunin at eight and jounin at ten… and she had died for him in his arms one day when they were separated from the rest of the team. He had held her in his arms and watched the blood flow over pale skin to mix with short hair the colour of blue dawn; had watched the life fade from wine-coloured eyes that stared at him with pain-edged love, tears coursing down her porcelain cheeks. He had given his first kiss to a dying girl at the tender age of ten and never looked back. That had been during the Cloud-Rock-Leaf War ended by Kazama Arashi just months ago.

He had started growing his short hair after that. Rei had loved his hair and frequently played with it when no one was watching. It now hung just past his shoulders and was very beautiful, but Rei would never play with it again.

"Hideaki-kun?"

Hideaki's liquid black eyes blinked slowly and focused on the brown ones of the girl before him. "I am on my way home, Anko-chan. What are you doing in this part of town so late in the afternoon?"

She didn't even bother to glance at the flaming orange sunset.

"Orochimaru-sama is in a meeting with Hokage-sama about something so he told me to come and train with you or something."

Hideaki shrugged and continued walking. "Suit yourself. I have a few jutsu scrolls in my room I have yet to use."

"Okay!" Anko squealed. She punched a fist into the air. "ONWARD! To Hideaki's room!"

Hideaki's fangirls glared from their hiding places.

**(space)**

Two weeks had passed and Anko was a mess.

Since he hadn't really liked his sensei, let alone hero-worshipped him like Anko did, he wasn't really all that crushed to find that Orochimaru had caught the wind and hit the ground running after an attempt on the newly appointed Yondaime's life.

As the snake sannin's old genin team, both Anko and Hideaki had been questioned and were under investigation; thus, they were not able to go on any missions. This was not a problem for Hideaki since he was from a rich clan, but Anko had been an orphan taken in as an apprentice by Orochimaru and had very little money of her own. Furthermore, vendors were beginning to turn her away, but they couldn't turn him away without offending his very powerful clan. Any chance they had had of achieving ANBU went out the window with their sensei.

He'd had been spending a great deal of time with Anko, just holding her while she cried, getting her groceries and making sure she ate.

But for the most part, she was unresponsive and Hideaki had approached his third cousin, a medic-nin, about anti-depressants for her.

"Thank you for being here, Hideaki-kun." The Uchiha hugged the purple-haired girl closer.

"It's alright." He told her.

A while later, "Because Orochimaru-san-" Anko flinched against him, "- was experimenting on people, Yondaime-sama wants us to have a full physical examination tomorrow morning at nine."

Anko started crying; deep, body-wracking sobs.

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	2. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything recognised as belonging to other people.

**Note:**

This story begins before Naruto was born. He will be coming in in the next chapter or the one after it.

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"Strip to your underclothes and sit on the table."

The dark-haired eleven-year-old did as told with his usual stoic demeanour, showing not even the slightest hint that he was uncomfortable with the five others in the room.

And he was.

Yondaime Hokage, Sandaime ex-Hokage, his father and Head of Uchiha Clan, Fugaku, a medic-nin and a Seal Master just in case they found one of the snake sannin's Curse Seals, were present.

The Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Arashi, was usually a kind and warm person, but even the usually apathetic Hideaki was wary of the cold steel of the blond man's eyes. It would appear that he would treat even the blameless, ignorant students of his enemy like he would the teacher. Hideaki couldn't blame him; he would do the same under the circumstances.

Sarutobi, the Sandaime, stood in the corner, face haggard since the betrayal of the man he thought of as a son. Hideaki had heard rumours that the Yondaime had wanted to imprison Orochimaru's surviving students, but that Sarutobi had intervened and instead they were on probation and under watch instead.

Hideaki's father…Hideaki had no love, no respect, no loyalty for the man, even as clan head. He regarded the man who had sired him in the same way he had regarded Orochimaru; dislike, hate even, tapered by fear and the blind obedience beaten into him as a child, to the point of apathetic defeatism. It was simply acknowledged that he had to take orders from them.

The young Jounin on the examination table blinked his neutral black eyes slowly as the Seal Master's brush painted a revealer Seal onto his back between the shoulder blades.

Hideaki became aware that something was happening on his back when chakra that felt different began freezing through the chakra pathways. He let out a sharp breath as several muscles in his back twitched and convulsed painfully.

The Seal Master made a surprised sound in the back of his throat

"What is it?" The Yondaime demanded.

The Seal Master ran cool fingers over the now still white back. Hideaki couldn't see, but the revealer Seal had flared an icy blue before dissipating.

"There is a powerful Seal hidden in his back. If it was anything below an A-ranked Seal, it would have been forced to reveal itself, but since it repelled my Seal, one can only assume it is mid A-rank or higher."

There was an angry breath but the Sandaime spoke first. "I thought that the Curse Seal was B-ranked at best."

The hand moved down the vertebrae. "It is. This is something else entirely. The chakra is too different to be Orochimaru's. If anything, I would say the chakra is demonic."

"Are you inferring that my son is a demon?!" Hideaki heard his father demand, outraged.

"Of course not. If he was, it would have manifested much earlier despite any attempts to hide it." The Seal Master replied calmly. "The same would apply if he were a Vessel. Hideaki-san?" The eleven-year-old turned his head slightly to show he was listening. "Have you ever been alone for an extended period of time and suffered any loss of your sense of time and memory?"

_-Ocean eyes-Black hair-Blue skin-Cave in the Sea cliffs-Rei's dead eyes-_

_-"Come in from the cold, little dragon."-_

"Iie. Not for several years."

_-"You're lying to me, little dragon."-_

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

The Sandaime sighed. "Then we will have to look further into this Seal after Anko-san's examination. Would you please wait in this room for the time being?"

Hideaki nodded and everyone but his father began to leave the room, he spoke.

"Sandaime-sama?" The old man paused. "May I have a word with you for a moment?"

The old man waved away Arashi's concerned gaze and stepped back into the room.

Once he was settled into one of the chairs, Hideaki cut his eyes to his father and back.

Sarutobi lit his pipe and addressed Fugaku. "If you would wait outside, Uchiha-dono, I believe Hideaki-kun wants privacy."

"Hideaki?" The name was spoken in a mild tone the boy was well-used to. He ignored the underlying threat.

He tilted his head slightly. "If you would?"

There was a stony silence, but after a few moments the door opened and closed behind the man.

Sarutobi inhaled softly from his pipe, eyes still narrowed from watching the confrontation between father and son.

The boy took a breath and tried to begin. "Anko is…" He hesitated. "She hasn't been taking it well." He concluded lamely. "I got her some anti-depressants this morning so she wouldn't break down during the examination." Hideaki shifted restlessly, eyes still locked on the wall opposite him, having not once looked at the old man. "Yondaime-sama's feelings in regards to the two of us had passed onto the public; shop keepers have begun turning her away, calling her 'snake-bitch'." He stopped to give the now very haggard old man a sad stare, his voice dropping out of monotone to an almost sad murmur.

"It is not so bad for me because of the clan, but even I have been called a traitor when they think I am not within earshot. She has been suffering because there has been no confidentiality. Anyone would be able to find out all the details with no hassle. They have been saying that we helped with his experiments." A look of anger passed over his face but was gone just as fast, though his voice remained hard. "Why is it we are being blamed while his old team is getting sympathy?"

"I shall look into it, Hideaki-kun, and I shall do my best for you both."

Hideaki blinked almost lizard-like at the old man. "You had better. That night, Orochimaru came and tried to entice us to follow him, we both refused for different reasons. For her to show that kind of loyalty to the village, only to have it thrown back in her face…it has cut her deep."

The Uchiha let the old man stew in guilt for a moment. "Will you sign emancipation forms for me?"

"Why?" He was startled.

Hideaki gave him a level look, looked at the door and looked back at the man. "Do you honestly think I'll get out of the Uchiha Compound before tomorrow without multiple bruises? I've had the shit kicked out of me for a lesser show of defiance then that."

"I'll take you to my office for the papers after your examination."

"Agreed. I'll move in with Anko if she allows it."

(**space)**

Anko turned out to have a Curse Seal and would have to stay for further observation. Sandaime had to send Yondaime out of the room to stop him from attacking her.

The Seal on Hideaki's back required an S-ranked revealer Seal to get it to show up. It turned out to be a Maternity Seal. A demon had adopted him and was feeding him chakra via a link in the back of his cerebral cortex and had been gradually altering his mindset. A Yamanaka had been sent in to poke around his mind and had left very much disturbed if the look on his face was any indication. The Yamanaka spoke aside to the Sandaime for a few moments.

Sarutobi murmured something back and the young Yamanaka Inoichi gave Fugaku a hateful look before leaving. Fugaku sent a cool look after the blonde man before giving Hideaki a look. Hideaki gave a neutral look back.

Sarutobi spoke to the medic-nin and Seal Master for a moment before they both bowed and left. He turned his attention back to the two Uchiha. "Hideaki-kun? If you would follow me to my office?"

Hideaki signed his name on the final dotted line and handed the forms back to the older man. He stood and bowed. "Thank you for understanding. If you would keep my father here for an hour or so…?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Of course. Inoichi-kun is waiting for you outside the Tower. He will be escorting you to and from the Uchiha Compound."

Hideaki stared at the Sandaime for a moment before giving one of his true smiles; one that morphed his whole face and lit up his black eyes. "Thank you, Sarutobi-sama."

He would be returning for a check-up as soon as the roving Master Seal Crafter returned from whatever mission he was on.

**(space)**

"It must have been hard for you."

Hideaki glanced at the blonde man running beside him. "I wouldn't know. It is the only life I have ever known."

The pair leapt over the roofs of a few buildings before Inoichi spoke again. "If you ever need anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do."

"I don't like charity cases, Yamanaka-san. However, if I ever need anything from you, I will pay you back for it with any odd jobs you need doing."

The blond smiled. "I didn't think it would be any other way."

**(space)**

The Uchiha heir opened the sliding door of his room and wandered in, Inoichi right behind him.

The room itself was rather plain: white paper walls and lacquered wood panelling. There was a plain, low table, a few sitting mats, a futon rolled in the corner and a locked cabinet in the northern corner. One sliding door led to a small bathroom and the other led to a walk-in wardrobe which held his formal kimonos and yukata. All his other worldly possessions were sealed in scrolls in either the cabinet in the corner or in a loose ceiling board.

Taking a key tied to a lock of hair at the base of his neck, Hideaki approached the cabinet and opened it to reveal at least ten or so sealing scrolls and a further forty or fifty smaller jutsu scrolls.

Inoichi sweat-dropped when he saw that the eleven-year-old had more jutsu scrolls then he did.

"Take these empty scrolls and put my clothes in them, would you?"

Inoichi took the three scrolls handed to him and moved into the wardrobe.

Hideaki regarded his scroll collection and reached for one of the storage scrolls. Moments later, the scroll was closed and the boy was carefully loading the scrolls into an oiled leather backpack. Content that Inoichi would be busy with his formal outfits, Hideaki used his chakra to walk up the wall and retrieve his more – ahem – sensitive jutsus: Read; anything above B-ranked.

With these jutsus were treasures from his childhood; an oddly shaped rock that sparkled in the sun, a self-bored stone, a beautifully carved jade snow leopard, some colourful feathers, his first kunai, his favourite teddy bear, the skull of a baby owl, a platinum ring his maternal grandfather left him, a picture Itachi drew for him, a picture of his old genin team minus Orochimaru, a picture of himself, Itachi and Mother, and a gold locket left to him by Rei, a lock of her hair held inside.

All these things in his pack, Hideaki replaced the ceiling board and moved on to the bathroom. Not much in there; two towels, his apple-scented shampoo and conditioner, sandalwood scented soap, a wash cloth and his extensive First Aid Kit.

Hideaki wandered into the wardrobe to find Inoichi putting the last five formal kimonos into the final sealing scroll.

"I have to go speak with my mother and brother before we leave." He told the man. "It might take some time, so would you take my pack to Anko's place for me?"

Inoichi smiled sympathetically. "Sure. I'll come right back to escort you to Anko-chan's apartment."

Hideaki returned the smile. "Thank you."

Inoichi left and Hideaki went in search of his mother and/or brother.

**(space)**

He found his mother in the garden trimming her favourite white Sakura vines.

"Mother? May I have a word?"

Michiko looked up and smiled lovingly at her eldest son. "What is it, Hide-kun?"

Michiko was a beautiful motherly woman with long black hair and always smelled of flowers. Hideaki knew that his mother loved him dearly, and he loved her, but only so much as one loves a favourite but distant aunt. He seldom ever saw his mother after his prodigy status was confirmed; Fugaku had filled his son's time with training and lessons, and later the missions started coming. When Hideaki was seven, he had begun to make an effort to spend at least an hour with his mother and brother at least weekly.

Michiko knew that her son didn't love her as much as other children loved their mothers, and it hurt her, but she also knew that it wasn't his fault and he _was_ trying his hardest to keep in touch with her given the circumstances. But still she knew that it hurt them both, and Itachi, when he couldn't make it.

Hideaki shifted and looked away, saddened that it had come to this. "I've been emancipated. I'm leaving to move in with Anko as soon as I've spoken with Itachi."

Michiko's legs gave out and she fell to her knees in a flutter of pink and yellow silk. Hideaki came forward and knelt beside her.

"It's alright, Mother. You and Itachi can come and visit me whenever you want. And I'll have more free time now without father making me train and go to lessons…"

"No, no, no!" She sobbed. "Don't you realise? Fugaku is going to disown you now and name you Forbidden! No one from the Uchiha Clan will ever be able to acknowledge your existence unless the Clan Head rescinds the order! I'll never see you again!"

Hideaki gathered his beautiful mother into his arms and let her weep into his shoulder, his heart swelling painfully with love for the woman who birthed him. "I know." He told her gently. "I was just trying to soften the blow. But, while I may be leaving you and Itachi, I will be free of this cage I was born into. I cannot live out my life as an asset to be used and cast aside." He pushed her back gently so he could look into her dark watery eyes. "But…I want you to promise me, Mother. I want you to promise me you won't let him make of Itachi what he made of me. Promise me, Mother."

Michiko nodded tearfully. "I promise."

"May I take a lock of your hair? As a reminder?"

Michiko reached out, took the knife she had been pruning with and a ribbon from her sleeve cuff. Tying an under lock together, she used the knife to cut it off.

Taking the long lock, Hideaki coiled it up and put it into a beautifully embellished leather pouch around his neck.

He gave her a beatific smile and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Mother."

He stood and walked away, leaving his mother crying in the garden, one hand clutching the knife and the other curled over the slight mound in her abdomen.

**(space)**

Itachi was in the training yards, practicing with his kunai.

"Otouto."

The small boy whipped around, dropped the kunai on the ground and threw himself at his Aniki.

"NEE-SAMA!"

"Hiya, shortie. I have something for you."

"WHAT! WHAT! WHAT!" The little black-haired boy jumped up and down with excitement, adoring hero-worship in his eyes.

Smiling ruefully, Hideaki gave his little brother the necklet he held in his hand. It was a chain with eleven metal beads spaced an inch apart, each of the metal beads with a hole in it.

"Oooohhh!"

Deciding that decorum could be damned, Hideaki dropped onto his arse and dragged his shrieking little brother down onto his lap, wrapping him in his arms.

"'Tachi?"

"Aniki?" the little black eyed, black haired imp replied in exactly the same tone.

"I'm going away on a long mission. I won't be around as much as I usually am. I might not come back at all."

Itachi whipped his head around, eyes wide with panic. "WHAT?! Why?!"

Hideaki pulled the boy closer for comfort and so he couldn't wiggle so much. "'Tachi… Missions aren't safe games. People die on missions. This mission is very dangerous and _I_ may die. So wear that necklet for me because," He moved an arm and, with a flick of his wrist, an identical necklet appeared in his hand, "I shall be wearing mine."

Itachi stared at the necklet for a moment before smiling up at his brother. "Okay, Aniki! I'll wear it so I'll always be close to you, even when you're on a mission." _Or if I get killed._ Hideaki thought ruefully.

Hideaki released his little brother and poked his forehead with his index finger.

"Good. Get back to training, squirt. If you want to be as good as I am you'll have to try harder."

"HAI!"

Hideaki left the training area. He had to speak with Mother again before he left.

**(space)**

Inoichi was speaking with Michiko when he returned to the garden. They stopped when they saw Hideaki approaching.

He gave the two a curious look when he came to a stop before them. He shrugged it off. "Mother?" He started softly, well aware that her eyes were still puffy and ready to overflow again at the slightest little thing.

Michiko sobbed and threw her arms around him. He gently guided her to a bench under her flowers where he let her cry out her tears until she was just shuddering.

"Leave it a few weeks, then tell Itachi I was killed on a mission. It will be better this way. If he thinks me dead, he will never resent the clan for casting me out." Michiko nodded into his shoulder, her eyes filling again.

"_HIDEAKI!"_ The lady and two shinobi straightened as Fugaku's voice roared through the mansion, tone dangerous.

Hideaki gently pushed his mother away and stood. "I have to go. I love you, Mother." He kissed her cheek, tasting salty tears. "Goodbye, Mother."

Inoichi joined Hideaki and the two were over the garden wall and into the Branch House quarters just in time to escape the red-faced Clan Head as he stormed into the garden.

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	3. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer:_ I do not own anything recognised as belonging to someone else.

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**

Hideaki, upon leaving the Uchiha Clan, lost both his surname and his clan's protection. To compensate for this problem, Hideaki took on his great grand-mother's maiden name, Endoh, and had been relying on Inoichi and his wife, Miharu, for groceries and supply shopping for both himself and the depressed Anko, doing odd jobs in return, saving them the trouble of having to hire a genin team.

The Seal Master eventually turned up and deemed the Maternity Seal non-aggressive, having long since reached its purpose and stopped progressing. Tests were done and it was found that he had grown thirty-two extra muscles, upped his strength to twice that of even the most physically fit person his age, regardless of build, tripled the speed and heightened his senses past those of any of the other clans. His condition was declared an S-Ranked secret of the Hidden Village of Leaf.

Three months later, Hideaki managed a glimpse of Itachi on his first day at the Ninja Academy. Hideaki's 'death' had obviously hit the second son hard, sending him into the same apathy as his brother, but driven by a deep-seated determination and ambition that Hideaki, himself, lacked.

He had also seen his very pregnant mother. Despite the healthy flush of pregnancy, Michiko looked miserable. He later heard that she gave birth to a boy she named Sasuke.

Fugaku looked much as he always did. The Prick.

Then, one day in October, the Kyuubi attacked.

(**space)**

It seemed to him that, while he had no qualms about whacking Hideaki around, the Kyuubi didn't land a single crippling or fatal blow to the boy. Several minutes into the battle, Hideaki finally noticed that the Seal on his back was pulsing.

One can only assume the Kyuubi didn't want to cause friction with Hideaki's demon surrogate mother, and that is probably why the giant fox kept giving him irritated looks. Hideaki was eventually knocked out when he was thrown into a tree.

The once Uchiha, now Undoh, woken ten or twenty minutes later. The Kyuubi had moved off towards Gamabunta, the Frog Boss. Hideaki could just make out the Yondaime standing on Gamabunta's head.

There was a bright flash of light and the Kyuubi vanished with an enraged yowl. Then Gamabunta vanished and the Yondaime free fell towards the ground.

Now don't get him wrong, Hideaki respected Arashi as the Hokage (mostly), but he didn't really like him as a person, yet still he found himself running and jumping to catch the falling man.

With a final leap, the young Jounin caught the falling blond not two metres from the ground. Even before he landed, Hideaki knew the man was dead.

There was a weak cry from the bundle the Yondaime held in a death grip. Hideaki had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He laid the still form on the ground, arranged the limbs and closed those blue, blue eyes for the last time before turning his attention to the baby. It was…a new born blonde baby boy. A spiral seal burned red on his belly.

Hideaki became worried. If the Kyuubi was truly sealed in the child like he believed, then there would be countless assassination attempts on his life, both from without and from within. He, himself, had seen what people did to their own if they blamed or suspected them of a wrongdoing. This kid was effectively damned by the Yondaime the moment the seal was put in place.

"Yondaime-sama!"

Hideaki sat back on his heel and looked around, fully alert. Shinobi were coming.

The boy stood and began to move off; if he was here when they arrived, they might blame him for their hero's death. The baby whimpered and Hideaki paused, glancing back.

They would almost definitely kill the baby.

Sighing, Hideaki dashed back, snatched the baby up and took off. Maybe he could leave it in the rubble of the Konoha Hospital Nursery Wing.

This decision was promptly dashed when he recalled that he had been drafted into evacuating the brats. Leaving him in the rubble of a house was out of the question because questions would be asked if that family didn't have a baby. Taking him to an orphanage wasn't even considered, that would be the first place they would look if they did a search for the kid and he _was_ a new born.

Thus it was, with great reluctance, that Hideaki took the kid home to Anko.

**(space)**

Four months later, Hideaki was cursing the moment he gave the kid to Anko. While Hideaki was busy stealing everything the kid would need while there was still anarchy from the demon fox's attack, forging the necessary documents and lying through his teeth to his superiors, Anko was quite happily playing mother with the baby she had started calling Tadashi, 'faithful servant'. His official name (the one on his forged birth certificate) was Undoh Toru, 'distant wisteria' and 'sea'.

Though, granted, arguing her into taking tablets to stimulate milk-production was rewarding. She was pretty mellow after that. She was also pretty upset that she couldn't take anti-depressants anymore because they might have affected the baby.

Speaking of babies, Yamanaka Miharu had recently given birth to a blonde baby girl. Ino. Hideaki had always thought babies were the same until they were three or so. This was proven to be false.

Ino was a screamer, true, but lethargic for the most part. She slept away twenty hours a day and demanded to be fed every four hours.

Toru, however, was generally a happy and easy to please baby, if entirely too active. He learnt to smile and giggle at three months, he demanded a drink every two to three hours a day and twice during the night. As such, he pooped and peed a lot. Miharu always commented on his pro-ess at changing a diaper or burping a baby.

Six months from the Kyuubi's attack, Anko was deemed stable enough to return to duty. This posed a problem since Hideaki was already doing extended missions and had been put forward for promotion into the Inferno Squad of the tracker-nins Black Ops. He didn't honestly think he would get it, but why take the chance? The problem was that with Anko on missions, there would be no one to look after Toru.

He had ended up going to Miharu and spilling the whole story. At first she had been frightened, but once he explained his reasons why, she agreed to look after the little boy. She was wary of Toru for several days until she got to know him.

Years passed and Hideaki did, surprisingly, get accepted into the Black Ops unit. His code name was Aki and he found the gruesome work surprisingly enjoyable once you were desensitised. Anko ended up becoming apprenticed to Morino Ibiki, the head of the Special Jounin Interrogations Corps.

Heaven forbid the Hokage even found out how the Yondaime's child was being reared.

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	4. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer:_ I do not own anything recognised as belonging to someone else.**

* * *

It was Toru's first day at the Academy. How Miharu got Hideaki into that outfit, let alone in front of people, Anko would never know, but she hero-worshiped the woman for managing it.

It involved a black singlet top, a black fishnet shirt with a V-neck and three-quarter sleeves, baggy black cargos barely held over his hips by a black belt and black combat boots. His now butt-length black hair had developed a slight wave and Miharu had tied it up in a high pony-tail but for some locks framing his face. He was still wearing his eleven-beaded necklet.

The truth was that Miharu had threatened the elder Undoh with leaving the 'Birds 'n' the Bees' talk to Toru to him. Hideaki had caved pretty quickly after that.

Toru had grown into a small, delicate child with a cute face and an irresistible pout he used ruthlessly. His big blue eyes were currently darting around curiously, trying to take everything in at once. Hideaki had done what he could about the whisker-marks made by the Kyuubi's sealing, but eventually he had just drugged the kid insensible and tattooed over them with blue ink only two or three shades darker than his eyes, making the thin lines into larger rectangular striped marks. He was currently wearing his favourite sky-blue shirt and emerald green shorts and sandals.

And so it was that Hideaki and Toru walked down the Academy hallway, four minutes late but neither particularly caring. They reached the right room and the elder knocked.

Over the screaming children came a, "Come in."

The blonde looked up at the black-haired youth and the black-haired youth looked back. The elder shrugged and opened the door.

Kids were everywhere; girls were crying, boys were shouting and one kid ran screaming into a wall, sat up, shook his head, got up and ran off screaming again. The teacher, a young chuunin Hideaki recognised as Umino Iruka, looked ready to either kill something or have an emotional breakdown.

"Go find somewhere to sit." The blond kid grinned and went and sat between Ino-nee-chan and some boy with pale skin and dark eyes and hair.

_So that must be Sasuke._ Hideaki looked the kid up and down and found the similarities between Sasuke and Itachi uncanny.

Shrugging it off, Hideaki took pity upon the poor chuunin.

He took a deep breath and shouted in his 'Shut-Up-And-Listen-To-Me' voice, "Shut up! Sit down! And listen to your teacher! Those who fail to comply will be put in Time Out until home-time! Got it?"

After the first two words, the entire class had fallen silent. Once he finished giving the twerps their orders, he nodded to the thankful teacher and left. As soon as the door closed, the noise picked up again.

Hideaki paused, smirked and shook his head before continuing along the hall.

**(space)**

It was just luck that Toru befriended his younger brother. Oh, there were others; Shikamaru and Chouji, whom Toru already knew since their fathers were good friends of Inoichi, Rock Lee from the year above, Ino's friends Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata, an Inuzuka called Kiba and, surprisingly, an enigmatic Aburame named Shino.

Toru's naturally sunny disposition caught everyone in its orbit, though his nature could be quiet and he spent hours watching insects with Shino or pressing and arranging flowers with the three girls or even watching the clouds with Shikamaru. He ate regularly with Chouji and Rock Lee. Kiba and Toru were 'friendly' rivals; read tried to out do each other.

But Sasuke and Toru were attached at the hip. To Sasuke, Toru was right up there with Itachi and Mother. Hideaki remembered the first day Toru brought Sasuke home.

_-Flashback-_

"Aniki?"

Hideaki was currently in the lounge room, on the couch and reading a _Weapons and Tactics _magazine.

"Hmmm?"

"This is my friend, Sasuke!"

Hideaki blinked and pulled his attention away from the rather pointy looking ninja-to. The magazine was lowered so black eyes could regard the two five-year-olds.

Sasuke was slightly behind Toru, shyly, and Toru was giving his Aniki his ruthless 'Big-Blue-Puppy-Eyes' and 'I'm-A-Cute-Innocent-Child' smile. The two were also almost totally covered in mud.

He raised the magazine again.

"ANKO!" Rang through the three-bedroom apartment.

_-End Flashback-_

Anko had bitched at him something fierce, but had cleaned up the two kids, eyes flashing in understanding when Sasuke was introduced.

Sasuke had the moved his new friend's big brother up into the 'Top Five People I Worship'. Hideaki hadn't shown any indication that he had heard the abuse shrieked at him. Anko was also boosted up into the top five because of her extensive vocabulary. Fugaku and Shisui had been ousted.

Hideaki was sooo smug about that.

**(space)**

Hideaki had undoubtedly heard about the meeting between Toru, Itachi and Michiko. Toru had mistaken Itachi for Hideaki playing a prank on him. It had taken a lot of taking on Michiko's part to smooth things over.

He knew because Inoichi had been acting as a go-between between the two.

The year ended for the now six-year-old Toru and student reports were sent to their guardians, which gave Hideaki an idea of what he needed to work on with the petite blonde.

His Taijutsu was strong, but his Ninjutsu and Genjutsu sucked. His stealth, trap setting and strategy were top of the class, if only he did his written work. He had then tested Toru's charka coils. They were upper chuunin level.

Which explained why he was sucky at Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, which made up most of the marks.

Hideaki knew he was being slack, but he dumped most of the practical stuff on Anko since she was in Konoha most of the time, though he had forbidden Anko from taking him to work after the kid nearly walk in on a full-out torture session.

His missions were usually several days long, though there were the occasional ones that lasted several weeks, but when he was actually home of a night and not dog tired, he would sit Toru down and make him not only do his homework, but also study each aspect of his homework in depth. When he was feeling especially mellow, Hideaki would teach his little disciple the legends and lore of the countries, especially those pertaining to the nine Tailed Demons. When he was irritated by manners and behaviours, Toru cursed the older ninja for the hours of protocol and etiquette he was forced to sit through and learn every so often.

And, since he was around so often, Sasuke often sat in on these lessons. When this happened, Hideaki often cut the lessons short due to the massive migraines that came with the questions that Sasuke was bright enough to answer.

Not that Toru was stupid, just a little…slow…and easily distracted.

**(space)**

"Hideaki-san?"

Said ninja twisted on his cushion to look at the ANBU kneeling on the windowsill, the two small boys leaning around him to gape at the Elite Special Ninja.

"Hai, ANBU-san?"

"Hokage-sama has an important mission for you. He requires your presence immediately."

"Alright. I'll just put my shoes on and I'll be right there." The ANBU nodded and flickered away. He turned to the boys. "Alright. You're free from learning for this evening. Toru, tell Anko I've gone on a mission when she gets back. Sasuke, it's late. I'll drop you off on the way past."

The two chorused an "Okay!"

And Sasuke went to put his shoes on with Hideaki while Toru put the books and stationary away. Hideaki stood, hooked his unknowing brother around the waist and lifted the giggling boy onto his back.

"Ja ne, Toru-chan. I'll probably be back later to pick up some things. You better be in bed by nine."

Toru grinned. "Okay, Aniki!"

Hideaki leapt out the window and smiled as Sasuke squealed in his ear as they dropped towards the roof of smaller building next door. He allowed his small smile to merge into a grin and he coiled his leg muscles to jump high again as opposed to the usual running and only jumping when he had to.

By the time they reached the Uchiha compound, Sasuke was all but shrieking in his ear in glee.

To add a last moment of excitement to the ride, Hideaki hit the ground and skidded the forty feet to the gateway into the Uchiha District, leaving a large trail of dust.

Sasuke was swung of his brother's shoulders and deposited on his feet.

"See ya, kid!"

"Ja ne, Hideaki-nee-san!"

Sasuke turned and ran down the street to the Main House and Hideaki returned to the roofs, neither looking back. A kunai fell from twelve-year-old Itachi's suddenly nerveless hand and he stared after his beloved but supposably deceased Aniki.

"…_Hideaki…?_" The word was whispered lovingly and longingly.

He shook his head in denial and backing into the shadows, hugging himself and trying to come to terms with what he had just seen.

…what he had just seen…

His eyes flashed red and narrowed angrily. He growled a word full of hate and jealousy.

"_Sasuke."_

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Pleez review.


	5. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own anything recognised as belonging to other people.

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The mission was to escort a trade diplomat to Hidden Mist to deal with a trade dispute. He, three genin teams and their instructors were to escort Hino Jiro to and from the council chambers in Hidden Mist. The mission lasted three weeks. 

On top of the escort mission, Hideaki was given a mission separate from his companions. He was to hunt down and kill the Leaf turned Rock-nin in the area who had stolen Raijin, the Nidaime's lightning sword, and return with both head and sword.

It had taken him an hour to sneak out of Hidden Mist on the fifth night and another four to locate the abandoned mansion where the missing-nin and his seven jounin companions were hiding out while they awaited orders from their Iwakage.

To make matters worse…it snowed all night.

The Hunter-nin, codenamed Aki, adjusted his Hunter Mask and activated his five-tiered Sharingan. There were two jounin hidden in the overgrown courtyard and they were taken care of quickly and efficiently with senbon thrown precisely into the neck's kill-points. Since they were sitting, they thankfully didn't make any noise when they slumped.

Moving quickly, Aki disarmed and moved the Rock-nin's traps, setting them up in different locations and adding his own little cantrips just in case.

He circled the old mansion and decided to wait for the change of shift.

One hour and forty-two minutes later, the next shift dropped and he dragged them into some brambles, retrieving his senbon in the process.

Several minutes later, another jounin came to investigate where the first shift was.

He moved into the garden to find his team mates, but Aki didn't go after him immediately. He wanted the jounin to get the missing-nin active.

If they found that someone knew where they were, they would either move out or try to kill who ever it was. Either way, he would still be able to snipe them off without much trouble.

Half an hour later, only the target and one jounin were still alive. One more jounin had been sniped but the other had tripped one of his chain-reaction traps and wounded the target in the process. The remaining two were on edge and Aki was feeling coolly satisfied about how things were progressing, though not enough to get cocky.

He'd gotten two new earth jutsus as a bonus, though.

He watched the two from the crook of a stout tree and decided enough was enough. He had to be back by dawn in an hour and a half's time.

Aki formed a few quick hand seals and murmured, "Kirigakure no jutsu."

Almost instantly mist began to rise, giving the old mansion an even creepier air. Using his enhanced senses of smell and sound, the Hunter-nin from the Black Ops Inferno Squad slunk with the sinuous grace of a river spirit up the path towards the two nin standing back to back so he could catch them from the side.

He slid the two long slender katana, his weapons of choice, out of their sheaths. With a burst of his unnatural speed he came in low and took both men down from below with simultaneous backhand slashes from groin to neck. Both fell to the ground in a spray of blood.

Aki straightened and looked around. He shrugged and spent fifteen minutes putting the eight corpses, sword and assorted weaponry and trap materials into storage scrolls to be looked over later. All that was left as a testament to the massacre were the bloodstained snow and trap damage.

It was nearly seven in the morning and long after daybreak before Hideaki reached the village. Having changed out of his Hunter-nin robes into civilian wear and mimicking the posture and gait of a commoner, he didn't really stick out.

He was wandering over a snow-capped bridge, lost in thought, when the demon's icy cold chakra in the Seal did the equivalent of shifting in interest. He looked up and noticed a ragged child with shaggy dark hair shivering against the rail of the bridge.

He tilted his head as he regarded the boy.

The kid wore only a pair of cotton three-quarter pants and a thin tunic. He was barefoot in the snow, but showed no sign of frostbite. While shivering, thoroughly depressed and looking defeated, he appeared mostly untouched by the cold.

As though sensing Hideaki's gaze, the boy lifted his shaggy head to reveal a surprisingly feminine face and large dark brown eyes that stared back unwaveringly with only apathetic neutrality. He couldn't have been more than eight or nine.

The two stared at one another for several minutes before interest finally entered the eyes only a few shades lighter than the black ones looking back.

Hideaki held out a hand.

The boy stood and came to him.

Hideaki took him back to the inn with him.

Momochi Zabuza passed the bridge not two minutes later.

**(space)**

There were five rooms allotted to the Konoha party. The three female genin and a female jounin instructor shared one room, the six male genin were split into groups of three with a jounin instructor bunking in each room. The jounin took turns guarding the diplomat in the forth room every night. Hideaki was given the smaller fifth, two-person room.

The boy, whose name he still did not know, was clean, fed and sleeping on the extra bed, his dark, silky head cushioned on Hideaki's lap and being idly petted while the older boy read through a bingo book, seeing if he could recognise any of the now dead Rock-nin.

He had already found four of them. Since he had killed them, he could collect the bounty money.

There was a soft nock on the door, which was opened a moment later without waiting for a reply. "Where were you all night? And who's the kid?"

Hideaki rolled his eyes up to look at the jounin instructor standing in the doorway.

"I had a separate mission to take care of. And I picked up the kid from the street. I'm taking him back to Konoha with me. Was there anything else, Hyuuga-san?"

Hyuuga Hiro of the Hyuuga Branch House narrowed his eyes. Hideaki thought better of him after he asked why Hideaki, someone none of them were familiar with, was suddenly being added to the mission the day before they left.

"Who are you, really? Why are you here?"

The Hunter-nin figured the Hyuuga would get off his back if he gave him some information. "I am a member of the Black Ops Inferno Squad." The Hyuuga's eyes widened. "I had to take care of something. It's done now, so I won't have to go out anymore. As for the kid," Hideaki petted the dark head now pressed into his hip. "The Hokage will be interested in him, but I mostly brought him back because I'm a bleeding heart when it comes to children. I've already adopted a child orphaned during the Kyuubi's attack. I think he needs an older brother." He noted the hand tightening on his pants.

The Hyuuga pondered for a moment before nodding and leaving.

He turned back to his bingo book.

The little boy closed his eyes and went back to sleep, still smiling.

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